Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

Whenever God repeats something, it's because it's incredibly important. I talk about this with our teenagers all the time - pay attention to everything in God's word, but pay special attention when it gets repetitious. Those are the truths He thinks are vital for us to know for one reason or another. So when I saw the exact same message repeated in my Proverbs reading, my devotion, my calendar and in a book I was planning to start this week, I let God know that I understand. I got it. Our God is not subtle. He doesn't hide anything. Over the weekend I read in all these different places about our words. Not just the words we speak, but the importance of the words we don't speak. We can say all the words we want to, but if we're just talking to hear ourselves talk, there really is no point. If we're not listening to ourselves, nobody else will, either. A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. Proverbs 29:11 Seest thou a man t

Every time I create a monthly spread for my planner, I marvel at how quickly the month before went by. Well ... it's happened again! Somehow we've sprinted through October and found ourselves in November, the month of thanks and giving. I love monthly layouts because I can use the tiny stickers from my sets to splash all over the page. I might not use them on cards and journals, but they have the perfect home in all these little squares. In every other area of my life, I'm not a big fan of random, but here in my planner I'm totally happy with throwing some little words and images around and seeing where they land.  This week is going to be filled with writing, meetings and planning several upcoming work events. I feel the need to tell you these pages were filled with notes almost immediately after the picture was taken. I didn't know when I laid these pages out that I would need these words and phrases this week, so I'm smiling about how God works. First and for

One of my favorite fall things is fresh apples. And friends with orchards who share their fresh apples with you. Thank you, friends! I used these gifted apples to try my very first apple dump cake. I've read a ton of variations on the theme, but the very basic direction seemed like the way to go this weekend. It's literally three ingredients and less than an hour total time. Then you can enjoy the yummy, bubbly goodness straight out of the oven! Ingredients: 4 apples, cored and chopped 1 box white cake mix 3/4 cup butter, cut into tablespoons 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. 2. Cut each apple into quarters, then each quarter into 6-8 pieces. Line the bottom of the dish with apple pieces. 3. Shake the dry cake mix over the top of the apples. 4. Arrange butter pats evenly over the top of the cake mix. 5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, until cake mix is browned and crispy around the edges. Serve immediately with ice cream a

One amazing part of my job is arranging receptions and progressive dinners for the meetings and conventions that come to town. It's a great way to show visitors all the restaurants and menus we have to offer, as well as tell the stories behind them. I'm happy any time we can share the diversity of our food and our people. And nothing brings out the possibilities like a good, old-fashioned buffet. Over a two-week time period, we hosted three different food-related events, including a multi-course buffet downtown. Spread over five tables, attendees could pick and choose anything they wanted, come back as often as they would like and sample a wide range of menu items. Needless to say, if they went away hungry ... it was their own fault! Many times, Christians treat their Bible study like a buffet line - I really like Psalms and Proverbs, but I don't want to read any other Old Testament books. And I'm happy studying Paul's epistles, but don't make me dive into Revel

Crazy as it may sound, I'm not exactly sure what's been on my planner pages for the past few weeks. I've been so busy doing the things that decoration was really the last thing on my mind. That being said and out of the way, I'm looking forward to the autumn layout this coming week. Not every page of your planner has to be filled with doo-dads and phrases and lots of colors. Some weeks it's enough to just have a few large images and words that tell the story of what's on your heart and in your mind. These giant fall stickers are the perfect example. They are beautiful and the perfect colors for the last week of October in Iowa. There's no need for a bunch of clusters or filler because they quite simply speak my heart. As you create your planner layout for the week, think about what's most important to you today and let that theme or color or patter run through the entire week. What's on your heart today that can be transferred to your planner?

As we enter the season of thanks and giving, it seems natural to thank God and praise Him for His many blessings. How many times will we be asked to name five things we're thankful for in the next few weeks? We can easily turn the exercise into something trivial instead of using it to tune our hearts to sing God's praise. So here are four ways you can thank and praise the Lord today as part of your everyday life. What ways would you add? 1. Make this a prayer-filled day. Slow down and notice the small things God gives us on a moment-by-moment basis. The small stuff isn't necessarily high on our radar, but our focused, ongoing prayer time reminds of us what's truly important. 2. Send a thank you note. When we show appreciation for someone who has blessed us, we're also blessing the Lord. When we reach out to those who do the little things - taking the time to put our thoughts and feelings in writing, we're passing on the heart of God in that envelope. 3. Bless so

I have so few words today. The ones I do have say two things: God is still on the throne, and He is still in the miracle business. I pray that you will thank Him and praise Him with me today.

In March 1972, a magazine like Better Homes and Gardens cost 50 cents. That fact alone blew me away when I found this magazine in a box with some vintage Christmas decorations. That and the amazing color and lighting in the cover photo. The vintage look (which was modern at the time) is so classic that you can tell what era it is from with just a quick glance. And there it was, wrapped up in a table runner to keep it wrinkle-free. I definitely wasn't expecting an issue from before I was born, but it turned out to be a time capsule of goodies on every page. The fun started right inside the front cover. Check out the pattern in the flooring paired with those amazing, red, retro chairs. That sleek look and classy lighting fixture are trending again, so it's true when they say that what goes around, comes around. Also note that the flooring surface repels stairs, food and dirt. How novel! The design of this page made interior design school seem like an article about possibilities i

One of our monthly grocery purchases is a 6-piece bag of wild salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska. It is absolutely phenomenal, and it's been fun to find a variety of recipes and techniques to cook it. This month, I haven't had a lot of time to get creative - I'm sure you understand that all too well. So here's a simple broiler method and a two-ingredient "recipe" for your next salmon craving. Once the salmon is thawed and rinsed, lay it in the bottom of a baking dish and pat it dry. I poured most of an 8-oz bottle of Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing over the salmon and covered the dish with foil. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or two. More is better, so for as long as you can. Preheat the broiler in your oven and bring the salmon out of the refrigerator. Transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet and pour the marinade over the salmon to completely cover it. The recommendation is 6 minutes of broiling per inch of height. My salmon filets were about two inc

The song On Eagles Wings has been on my heart and in my head for days. For a while, all I could remember was the very last line of the chorus: And hold you in the palm of His hand. Then I found this sweet ceramic child and had to smile at God's timing. It was only a very small piece of a beautiful songgoing through my mind, so yes, I googled that line and remembered it immediately when I saw the title. -------- You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord Who abide in His shadow for life Say to the Lord, "My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!" And He will raise you up on eagles' wings Bear you on the breath of dawn Make you to shine like the sun And hold you in the palm of His hand The snare of the fowler will never capture you And famine will bring you no fear Under His wings your refuge, His faithfulness your shield And He will raise you up on eagles' wings Bear you on the breath of dawn Make you to shine like the sun And hold you in the palm of His hand You need not

It's suddenly October. Every time I turn my planner to the next month, I feel like the year is flying by. Hopefully I'm not the only one.  My planner has both monthly and weekly spreads, so I use the monthly for my blog post ideas and the weekly for work and personal schedules. I have several seasonal sticker books, so finding some adorable and spooky images and phrases for October. My favorite way to decorate the monthly pages is to "random stamp," but with the smaller stickers in my collection. That's how I use up some stickers that I might not normally use for cards or scrapbook pages, while making a super-cute layout to use for a whole month. For the first full week of October, I started with ripped pieces of washi tape in a beautiful burnt orange. This is by far my favorite technique for washi, especially in a pretty pattern like this. I chose that color on purpose, too. I had my eyes on this sticker set, full of botanicals and tiny phrases. Each one is layer

Your dogs may be motivated by toys and absolutely in love with them. Not ours. Ours are cuddlers, not players. But when they get a hold of something new - and something they can fight over - they're completely happy. While cleaning out the spare bedroom closet, I found this huge bag of scrap denim. By scrap, I mean that I've cut the pockets out of old, trashed jeans to use on the front of handmade journals. The rest of the denim went in this bag and was tucked in the closet. (As if writing it this way makes it sound like someone else did it...) And, apparently, they smell really good because the dogs were all interested in them - even before I knew what I was going to do with them. They were going to become dog toys! They're so easy to make that I don't know why I didn't just make them, instead of putting them in the closet. I cut all the way down on either side of the long seam, whether it's pants or skirts. They don't have to be the same width, just a simi